Poor infrastructure in Queenstown is a reflection of ANC “comradely suspension” of municipal manager

DA provincial leader Athol Trollip is on the campaign trail in Queenstown and Cofimvaba today.

Businesses and residents of Queenstown continue to live with perennial electricity blackouts while little action has been taken against the municipal manager whose poor performance is directly linked to the poor service delivery and lack of infrastructure maintenance in this municipality.

What Queenstown and the Eastern Cape needs is proper infrastructure and maintenance thereof that will bring the necessary investment to create REAL JOBS to our towns. The ANC government under President Zuma has not delivered on its job creation promises. One out of every three South Africans is unemployed because our economy is not growing fast enough.

Thanks to his links with connected politicians and his membership of the ANC’s provincial executive committee in the Eastern Cape, municipal manager Gregory Brown remains on “comradely suspension” while Queenstown’s electricity infrastructure deteriorates. As an electricity supplier on behalf of Eskom, it is the role of the Lukhanji Municipality to ensure that this service is indeed rendered. This is impossible with a person such as Mr. Brown in charge, who was under qualified when appointed for the job and who was simply an ANC cadre deployee.

Despite the government’s identification of Queenstown as an economic growth hub, business investment remains lacking. This just another example of how the ANC of Jacob Zuma is neglecting our communities while benefits are only for the connected few. Mr. Brown’s enjoyment of the high life, expensive cars and luxury travel is legendary and notorious.

People in the Eastern Cape are forced to leave their families to look for job opportunities elsewhere, such as the Western Cape. The Western Cape, where the DA governs in an accountable, transparent and caring manner, has the lowest unemployment rate in the country.

The DA wants to bring this progress to the Eastern Cape. By making an informed choice, voters can change the future of this province, by voting DA on 7 May.